The present invention relates generally to hubs for fiber optic data communication networks and, more particularly, to a fiber optic hub having an off-line self-diagnostic and cable test capability and to a method for testing fiber optic hubs.
Fiber optic cable possesses a number of important advantages over coaxial electrical cable and other hardwire data transmission mediums which make it desirable for use in local area networks and other data communication systems. For example, fiber optic cable is immune to electromagnetic noise and other types of interference that often affect hardwire systems. Also, because fiber optic cable carries no electricity, fiber optic systems are often more reliable and insensitive to cable damage than hardwire systems. In addition, unlike the signal on a hardwire cable, the signal on a fiber optic cable normally cannot be tapped off or diverted without the interception being noticed, thus providing fiber optic systems with a greater degree of security.
A local area network (LAN) functions to interconnect a plurality of personal computers or other electronic devices such that the various devices can communicate with one another over the network. A typical fiber optic LAN includes a plurality of remote optical interfaces which interface a plurality of remote "nodes" to one or more fiber optic hubs. Each remote node may include, for example, a personal computer (PC) interfaced with a LAN controller; and each hub includes a plurality of hub optical interfaces connected to appropriate hub LAN processing circuitry. Each remote optical interface and each hub optical interface includes an optical receiver section and an optical transmitter section; and as known to those skilled in the art, data from a remote node is transmitted by the transmitter section of its associated remote optical interface to the receiver section of a corresponding hub optical interface over a length of fiber optic cable, processed by the hub LAN circuitry, and then retransmitted over the network by the transmitter sections of the hub optical interfaces.
An important inadequacy of many known fiber optic hubs is that they are not capable of being easily tested for proper operation without being first installed into a data communication network and connected to personal computers or other external devices via the network. Testing of the hub at this level is not fully satisfactory because it requires that the technician be capable of operating computer terminals or other external devices and, in many cases, renders defects in the hub more difficult to identify.
The testing of fiber optic hubs with integral test functions leads to more efficient manufacturing techniques providing the flexibility of permitting a variety of different types of tests to be performed.